Doc Rivers is returning to television. This time, he says no coaching job will pull him away.
NBC announced Monday that Rivers has joined its NBA coverage as an analyst for the 2026-27 season. He will call games across NBC, Peacock and NBCSN, with the possibility of additional studio appearances.
“I honestly can say I’m absolutely retired,” Rivers said, via the Associated Press. “I had a long run. It ended up in the Hall of Fame and I am so thankful that I was able to coach and played as long as I did.”
Rivers, 64, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this year. He ranks sixth in NBA history with 1,194 coaching victories and 2,059 games coached.
His career included stops with the Magic, Celtics, Clippers, 76ers and Bucks. Rivers led Boston to the 2008 championship and returned to the NBA Finals in 2010.
Television is familiar territory. Rivers previously worked for NBC during the 2012 London Olympics, spent three years with Turner Sports and had two stints with ESPN and ABC. His most recent broadcasting run ended in January 2024 when he left the booth to coach Milwaukee.
Rivers said he turned down an NBC offer in 1996 because he could not promise that he would never return to coaching. He can make that promise now.
“I don’t take a lot of breaks in my life,” Rivers said. “I’ve always been around the game and this is a way of keeping me there.”
Rivers also expressed interest in working with his son, NBC analyst Austin Rivers.
NBC’s NBA coverage begins Oct. 20. Doc Rivers will be there. The coaching carousel will have to continue without him.
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